Hermanalita

The older sisters in our Branch (I guess that would mean anyone older than I am) call me "Hermanalita," which is a really sweet version of "Sister."  I am so enjoying getting to know them better.  I guess the advantage of Sister Cluff being gone is that I have had to speak for myself and therefore develop my own relationships with the people in our Branch.  Cluffs did finally come back to Ovalle--yesterday--but she will be in a wheelchair or in bed for a few more months.  Her bones are healing, but right now caution and rest are her best allies, so she will be working from her apartment. It is wonderful to have them back.  They go home in three months.

Earthquake!
Elder Jones and I were sitting in our apartment last week when our chairs started to shake.  They shook harder and harder for about a minute then it slowly died away. It was a bit unnerving, but quakes are so frequent here that people don`t stop to panic unless the power or water goes out.   We have felt several of these earthquakes (they happen frequently) but that was the strongest.  Apparently the center was about 50 miles north, so it was stronger there == 5.5 or so.  It feels kind of creepy, and the rumbling noise is really creepy!  We`re just fine not having anything stronger.

It is still harvest season.  Grapes are all gone and actually starting to leaf out again.  Trucks are bringing in loads of oranges, avocados. artichokes, and tangerines.  They are all wonderful.  We never knew an avocado could have so much flavor.  We have driven around a bit to look at some of the farms, but when we see a guard dog behind the fence that silently glares at us and looks like he works out every morning, we keep going.

Trip to Barazza
Last week we were asked by the mission office to go find the owner of an apartment the mission wanted to close down in another town.   We needed to give him a letter indicating that, but find where he lived first because they had no contact information.  They knew he was in a town called Barazza which is about 30 miles from here and is in a beautiful valley of farms.

  It was quite an adventure to find his house.   He wasn`t home but we found his sister who said he was in Argentina.  On the way back to Ovalle I took this picture of the Andes with snow on them.

A wonderful program the missionaries benefit from is the language program.  When a missionary needs to learn a language, time is built into the daily schedule for that.  If a missionary is serving in a mission where they speak the language already, then they use that time to learn English.  So young people from all over the world are enhancing their after-mission opportunities by learning English while they serve.  Some of the ones here from the States who have learned Spanish well enough and want to study something else, are allowed to start learning another language!  At our recent Zone Conference a few native speakers bore their testimonies in English and a few from the States bore theirs in either Italian or Portuguese!   We love seeing these amazing young people so excited about learning!

Last month our Branch went to the temple in Santiago.  We left Ovalle about 1 a.m. in the morning by bus and arrived at the temple about 7 a.m..  We ate whatever breakfast we brought and then spent time in the temple until 3 pm, when we returned to Ovalle.  The week before I was able to help our good friend Maykol get two grandparents` names ready for temple work.  He, Elder Jones, and I did the baptisms, confirmations, initiatory, and endowment for both of them.  It was a great experience--and Maykol`s first time in the temple.  He has been a member about 5 months.  Elder Jones baptized.

This is Emely, a very sweet girl we are helping teach.  With her is Elder Anderson, our Star Valley Wyoming cowboy!  We just finished teaching her one of the lessons.

No Pathway Program=When we were asked last month to work in the Pathway Program, we were excited to be involved.   As it turns out, no one from Ovalle or any of the surrounding areas enrolled, so there will be no program at least for this semester.  We think the biggest deterrent was that anyone who enrolled needed to be able to speak English at least in short sentences.  Elder Jones observed that it shows how few people here speak English-- less than anywhere we have traveled in the world.  A few are surely trying hard, because they realize how much it increases their opportunities, but it is not easy.  (When I start to complain about having to learn Spanish, I realize how much harder it might be to learn English, and I stop complaining!)

Love to you all

Elder y Hermana Jones